UPDATE: Tribune Changes

The Chicago Tribune opened its Washington bureau during Abraham Lincoln’s White House bid in 1859, and the Los Angeles Times did so in 1914. Now Tribune Co. boss Sam Zell has decided to combine them into one operation that will serve all the company’s papers.

The current total of 42 staffers will be reduced by about 12, insiders say, and most duplicate beats will be eliminated. Who will manage the bureau is unclear. Michael Tackett quit in August, and his successor, Naftali Bendavid, announced her resignation last week but apparently is staying on for at least a couple more weeks. The Tribune’s last two bureau chiefs quit in recent weeks, while Doyle McManus, who has run the Times bureau for 13 years, has told colleagues that he long ago asked for a new assignment.